Down the Frozen River

Tag: Central Division

  • DTFR Podcast #131- Hockey Plague

    DTFR Podcast #131- Hockey Plague

    Pekka Rinne signed a two-year extension, John Stevens and Joel Quenneville were fired, Willie Desjardin’s back and there’s a new guy in Chicago (Jeremy Colliton), Philadelphia Flyers goaltending is in the news again, people in Ottawa are fired up about Uber, Lou Lamoriello reached 2,400 games as a GM as the New York Islanders lead the Metropolitan Division and is Halloween the new Thanksgiving? Nick and Connor discuss.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Marchand wins it in OT, 2-1, Rask, Khudobin battle in net

    For the first time since 1967, the Boston Bruins have an overtime win against the Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars franchise in the regular season. As a result of Brad Marchand‘s game-winning goal on the 5-on-3 power play in overtime, the Bruins are now 1-3-8 overall against the Stars when the game goes past 60-minutes in the regular season.

    Former teammates and (still) good friends, Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin were in goal for their respective teams as Rask minded the net for Boston and Khudobin took to the crease for Dallas.

    Rask (4-3-0, 2.78 goals against average, .909 save percentage in 7 games played this season) made 24 saves on 25 shots against for a .960 SV% in 64:29 time on ice in the win for Boston, while Khudobin made (2-1-1, 2.21 GAA, .929 SV% in 4 GP) 33 saves on 35 shots faced for a .943 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 8-4-2 (18 points) on the season and remained in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Stars fell to 8-5-1 (17 points) and moved into 3rd place in the Central Division.

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    Bruce Cassidy made a few minor adjustments to his lineup Monday night, sliding Danton Heinen down to the third line with David Backes and Anders Bjork to start the night, while Joakim Nordstrom kicked things off with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk on the second line.

    On defense, Zdeno Chara remained paired with Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug remained partners with John Moore, while Matt Grzelcyk returned to the lineup from a lower body injury.

    Grzelcyk took his usual spot on the third defensive pair to the left of Steven Kampfer while Jeremy Lauzon was left as the odd man out as a healthy scratch.

    Anton Blidh was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on emergency basis in case Chris Wagner wouldn’t be good enough to go as a game-time decision, but was not needed in Monday night’s matchup.

    Charlie McAvoy (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) and Kevan Miller (hand) remain out of Boston’s lineup due to injury.

    Early in the first period Roman Polak interfered with Bruins forward, Brad Marchand, and was sent to the box with a minor penalty at 3:25.

    Less than 30 seconds later, Boston’s power play unit was more than power less as Radek Faksa (3) entered the zone without any deterrent for an unassisted short handed goal, firing a shot past Rask and giving Dallas the 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the first period.

    Though they could’ve gotten behind the eight-ball, the Bruins trudged on and capitalized on the same special teams advantage moments later.

    Patrice Bergeron found David Pastrnak (12) in the open to the left of Khudobin acting as the bumper on the power play and sent a crisp pass for the one-timer power play goal at 5:11, tying the game, 1-1.

    Bergeron (13) and DeBrusk (1) were tabbed with the assists on Pastrnak’s goal and the Bruins not only leveled the scoreboard, 1-1, but the momentum swing game too. Boston had scored 1:20 after Dallas opened the game’s scoring.

    After their power play goal, Boston didn’t let up on the gas pedal, pressuring the Stars in every inch of the ice and supplying Khudobin with a tremendous workload.

    Through one period of play the game was tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard while the B’s led in shots on goal, 13-4. Dallas held onto the advantage in blocked shots (3-0), takeaways (5-4), giveaways (2-0) and face-off win percentage (53-47) after 20 minutes of play, while both teams notched nine hits aside.

    The Stars had yet to see any time on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/1 on the skater advantage.

    Despite allowing more shots on goal than putting pucks on net in the second period, Boston maintained a, 21-13, advantage in shots on goal entering the second period as the game remained tied, 1-1, through two periods.

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    Dallas continued to lead in blocked shots (9-0), giveaways (7-6) and hits (24-19) heading into the dressing room for the second intermission, while the Bruins led in face-off win% (53-47). Both teams recorded nine takeaways through 40 minutes of play.

    Neither club added any penalty minutes to the scoresheet heading into the third period.

    Krug took the only penalty for Boston in the game past the midpoint of the third period as he collided with Gemel Smith and received a boarding minor at 11:15.

    The Stars failed to convert on their only power play opportunity of the game, while the Bruins successfully killed off Krug’s infraction.

    After 60 minutes, the game was still tied, 1-1, and the Bruins were outshooting Dallas, 32-23 (11-10 in the third period). The Stars maintained a stronghold in blocked shots (13-3) and led in hits (30-26) after regulation, while Boston led takeaways (14-12) and face-off win% (52-48).

    Both teams had nine giveaways aside heading into overtime, while Dallas was 0/1 on the power play and the B’s were 1/1.

    Entering overtime, Boston had yet to win past 60 minutes this season, dropping a game in Edmonton, 3-2, and a game in Vancouver, 2-1, last month– both in overtime, while the Stars were 1-0 in overtime this season.

    After a bungled line change resulted in a too many men bench minor for Dallas, Mattias Janmark was sent to the both to serve the infraction and Stars head coach, Jim Montgomery rallied his remaining skaters on the ice, despite facing an uphill 4-on-3 penalty kill to climb with 1:44 remaining in overtime.

    That’s right, regardless of the outcome, Boston would have a power play until the end of the game– win or lose.

    Things got worse for Dallas when Esa Lindell cross-checked Marchand 11 seconds later along the boards and the Stars went from being down one skater to facing a two-skater disadvantage to finish the night.

    While on the 5-on-3 power play, Boston worked the puck around the goal firing a quality shot on Khudobin that the Stars netminder denied before finally cracking the code.

    After working the puck around the zone, Krejci found Marchand working the low slot– point blank– on the left side of the Dallas goaltender. Marchand (5) promptly elevated a snap shot past Khudobin’s blocker and into the goal for the game-winning overtime power play goal at 4:29 of the overtime period.

    Krejci (8) and Krug (2) picked up the primary and secondary assists on the Bruins franchise leading overtime game-winning goal scorer’s goal and Boston secured the 2-1 victory Monday night at home.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-25) and face-off win% (55-45), while Dallas led in blocked shots (13-4), giveaways (10-9) and hits (32-26). The Stars were 0/1 on the power play, while the Bruins went 2/3 on the skater advantage.

    With Monday night’s win, the Bruins look to build the momentum against the Vancouver Canucks this Thursday at TD Garden as Boston continues their four-game home stand.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs are in town Saturday and the Vegas Golden Knights swing through on Sunday before Boston hits the road for a four-game road trip starting in Colorado.

  • Rinne and the Preds shutout Bruins, 1-0

    Pekka Rinne celebrated his 36th birthday with a 1-0 shutout Saturday night against the Boston Bruins as the B’s were paying their annual visit to Bridgestone Arena. Roman Josi had the game’s only goal for the Nashville Predators and the Bruins wrapped up their quick two-game road trip, 1-1-0.

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    Rinne (5-1-0 in 7 games played with a 1.63 goals against average and a .948 save percentage) stopped all 26 shots he faced for the win– his 2nd shutout of the season– and became the first goaltender in National Hockey League history to record multiple regular-season shutouts on his birthday (he previously shutout the Phoenix Coyotes on November 3, 2011).

    The Preds netminder also signed a two-year extension with Nashville earlier in the day on Saturday, keeping him in Smashville through the 2020-21 season.

    Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (4-1-2, 1.45 GAA, .952 SV% in 8 GP), made 39 saves on 40 shots against for a .975 save percentage in the loss.

    Boston defender Torey Krug celebrated 400 career NHL games played with a minus-one rating, two hits and two blocked shots in 23:03 time on ice.

    As a result of the loss, Boston fell to 7-4-2 (16 points) on the season, which was good enough to remain 3rd in the Atlantic– but tied in points with the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. Nashville improved to 11-3-2 (22 points) so far this season– maintaining their 1st overall standing in the Central Division, as well as the Western Conference and entire league.

    Bruce Cassidy made one change in the lineup after Ryan Donato was assigned to the  Providence Bruins (AHL) on Thursday, re-inserting David Backes on the third line as No. 42 in black-and-gold returned to action for the first time since sustaining a concussion in Edmonton last month.

    Matt Grzelcyk (lower body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion), Charlie McAvoy (upper body) and Kevan Miller (hand) remained out of the lineup Saturday as McAvoy was retroactively placed on the injured reserve earlier in the week.

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    The game began with some quick end-to-end action that slowly became heavily dominated by the Predators with quality chances and zone entries.

    Brandon Carlo took the game’s first penalty– a minor infraction for hooking– at 12:02 of the first period after getting his stick tangled up with Nashville forward, Ryan Johansen.

    The Preds did not convert on the ensuing power play, but maintained just momentum in the vulnerable minute after the skater advantage expired for Josi (4) to waltz around Bruins forward, Danton Heinen, cut to the goal and fire a shot past Halak from point blank.

    Ryan Ellis (8) and Nick Bonino (3) had the assist’s on Josi’s goal at 14:49 of the first period and Nashville led, 1-0. The goal was Josi’s 300th career NHL point.

    Yannick Weber was guilty of hooking Joakim Nordstrom less than ten seconds later, but the Bruins didn’t convert on the ensuing power play.

    Noel Acciari hooked Mattias Ekholm at 17:10 and Nashville didn’t score on that power play either, because– you guess it– there were no more goals scored in the Predators, 1-0, win.

    Brad Marchand stirred the pot with a phantom high-sticking minor infraction at 19:58 of the first period.

    It’s one thing if there’s a blown call. It’s another thing for a player to continue arguing and receive an extra unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty– resulting in a 4:00 power play that could’ve drastically changed the game for Nashville– and a ten-minute misconduct without any conceivable warning.

    Not to put too much thought into it, but just to sidestep onto a soapbox (since nothing else really happened other than a great goaltender battle all night long) regardless of making a call, professional sports usually work on a one-warning system.

    It was not made clear by the broadcast whether or not Marchand faced a warning from the referee or whether that was implied by the penalties handed out, however NHL refs are noted for expressing verbal warnings to players early in a game before handing out unsportsmanlike minors or misconducts after repeated bad behavior (verbally or physically) later in the action.

    Like how an umpire in baseball delivers a warning to both dugouts sometimes after a pitcher hits a batter. Whether the next hit batter is intentional or not, the umpire has already made it clear that discipline will be handed out and the subsequent pitcher beaning a batter is ejected from the game.

    Anyway, that’ll probably save a few minutes on next week’s podcast.

    There’s nothing wrong with the penalties handed out after the blown call, but rather the formality in which they occurred, without a given warning that would otherwise deem them flat-out the right call.

    Then again, other league’s issue formal apologies after the game, in which nothing can be changed because it’s after the game and, well, the fact of the matter is– refs are human.

    This is sports. Mistakes are made. Play better. Rise above. Insert whatever you want here.

    Anyway, Marchand’s 14 minutes in penalties came with two seconds remaining in the first period, so Nashville’s power play would extend into the middle frame.

    After one period, the Predators led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 15-10. Nashville also had an advantage in takeaways (3-1), giveaways (5-2) and face-off win percentage (55-46). The Bruins had an advantage in blocked shots (7-2) through 20 minutes.

    The Preds entered the first intermission 0/3 on the power play, while Boston was 0/1 heading into the dressing room.

    Ryan Hartman hooked Heinen early in the second period and gave the B’s a power play at 4:18. Boston didn’t convert on the skater advantage and had one more chance on the power play at 8:51 of the second period after Kevin Fiala got a stick hooked on David Pastrnak.

    The Bruins power play was unsuccessful on that chance too.

    Despite controlling the flow of the game more in the second period, the Bruins lacked quality in both shots and zone entries. Everything was moving too quick– too many passes, too much setup– and too many saves piling up in Rinne’s save percentage for the night.

    Miikka Salomaki interfered with Acciari at 17:47, giving the Bruins one last chance on the power play, but it was unsuccessful.

    Shortly thereafter, Steven Kampfer tripped up Johansen on a scoring opportunity after Johansen appeared to not actually get tripped up at all upon replay. Something about not anticipating the play, thereby calling misled reaction penalties and instead enforcing the rules…

    Anyway, Nashville didn’t score on their final power play of the game at 19:56 of the second period. Again, the Bruins would start the subsequent period shorthanded, however, if you reread the previous sentence… they made out just fine.

    After 40 minutes Nashville was still leading in shots on goal (23-20), despite being outshot by Boston (10-8) in the 2nd period. The Bruins led in blocked shots (10-9), hits (8-6) and face-off win% (54-46) through two periods, while the Predators held an advantage in takeaways (7-3) and giveaways (8-4).

    Both teams failed to convert on the power play, as Nashville finished the night 0/5 on the skater advantage and the B’s went 0/4.

    Though some things may have been mismanaged in the first 40 minutes, the on-ice officials put away their whistles in the final 20 minutes, yielding no stoppages for major or minor infractions.

    Cassidy pulled his netminder with 2:02 remaining in the third period and called a timeout after a stoppage in the action with 12.0 seconds remaining in the game. Neither strategy worked as time ran out on the Bruins’s hopes for scoring a game-tying goal and the Predators walked away with the 1-0 victory.

    Nashville finished the night with a 40-26 advantage in shots on goal (17-6 in the third period), as well as an advantage in giveaways (12-10) and face-off win% (53-47). Boston finished the 60-minute effort leading in hits (17-8) and both teams recorded 14 blocked shots.

    Boston travels back home to begin a four-game home-stand with a matchup against former Bruin, Tyler Seguin, and the Dallas Stars Monday at TD Garden. The B’s will face the Stars (Nov. 5th), Vancouver Canucks (Nov. 8th), Toronto Maple Leafs (Nov. 10th) and Vegas Golden Knights (Nov. 11th) over the next four-games.

  • Numbers Game 2018-19: One Month Down

    Folks, it’s no longer October.

    You can once again begin asking the question “is it October yet?” without facing any legal ramifications, despite the fact that the 2018-19 regular season is very much alive and in effect.

    Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone, but for all of you urban legend believers in postseason fate, American Thanksgiving has yet to pass– meaning every team’s playoff hopes is still technically alive. The majority of teams in playoff position by American Thanksgiving– in this case, Nov. 22nd– make the playoffs.

    If you’re new to hockey, this is a thing, but it’s not set in stone. There’s always that one or two teams that sneak their way in from outside the picture frame. Likewise, there’s always that team that blows it down the stretch.

    The Tampa Bay Lightning are off to a hot start, working their way to 1st place in the Atlantic Division by the end of October, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins hot on their tail just as we all expected.

    Though the Maple Leafs have a fiery offense and solid goaltending, defense has been the most apparent area for improvement. In Boston, depth scoring, injuries and a slow start in net for Tuukka Rask have held the Bruins back from realizing their full potential, but the depth of their defenders and backup netminder Jaroslav Halak have kept them in good-standing.

    In the surprise of the month for the Atlantic Division, the Montreal Canadiens sit 4th and the Buffalo Sabres sit 5th– both with 14 points on the season so far. Meanwhile, to no surprise the Ottawa Senators are 6th, the Detroit Red Wings are in a rebuild and the Florida Panthers simply haven’t played as many games as their opponents.

    Taking a look at the Metropolitan Division and you won’t be surprised to see the Pittsburgh Penguins back in control with Sidney Crosby at the steering wheel, but you might be surprised by the other current divisional playoff spot holders.

    The New York Islanders are 2nd and the Carolina Hurricanes are 3rd after the Hurricanes led the division for most of the month, only to begin a recent skid.

    Just on the outskirts of a wild card spot are the Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils.

    Washington’s off to a slower start than expected, but overall not feeling as bad as a Stanley Cup hangover as it could’ve been– given how many fountains around D.C. they dove in and the number of beers consumed.

    Columbus is just over .500 and the Devils have also played fewer games than anyone in their division, much like the Panthers.

    The Philadelphia Flyers sit 7th in the Metropolitan Division in a tight race, but have shown weaknesses on the blue line and in the blue paint (goaltending, again) and the New York Rangers are in a full-scale rebuild to start things off this season.

    In the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators are staking a case for defending their President’s Trophy season last year currently sitting atop the Central Division, as well as the league.

    Filling out the remaining Central Divisions spots, last season’s biggest improvers, the Colorado Avalanche sit 2nd with the Minnesota Wild in 3rd. There’s two wild card berth in the Central Division, currently held by the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks(!?!)– that’s right, last season’s division bottom feeders are able to keep their heads barely above the surface with Corey Crawford back in the net.

    The Dallas Stars sit 6th and the St. Louis Blues have had the wheels fall off in just a month’s time.

    In the Pacific Division, the Vancouver Canucks lead the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights and the 31st place team in the league– the Los Angeles Kings.

    Yes, the Pacific Division is that wide-open so far with legitimate playoff contenders from last season (San Jose, Anaheim, Vegas and Los Angeles) all over the place. The Sharks haven’t hit their stride, the Ducks are suffering from injuries and defensive breakdowns, while the Golden Knights are looking for last season’s inaugural season magic.

    Oh and the Kings? Yeah, everything’s pretty bad right now and Jonathan Quick‘s out indefinitely.

    Meanwhile, pleasant surprises in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Arizona are being led by… youth?

    Nothing makes sense anymore.

    Luckily, that’s just a quick recap of the first month in about as bland an outlook as you can get when the meat of this post is really about what’s to come. That’s right, everything above? Forget most of it. Let’s use a little foresight and figure out how November through April should go.

    2018-19 Projected Standings after One Month

    Eastern Conference

    Atlantic Division

    1. y-Boston Bruins, 104 points (12 GP so far)
    2. x-Tampa Bay Lightning, 103 points (11 GP so far)
    3. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 94 points (12 GP so far)
    4. wc1-Montreal Canadiens, 93 points (11 GP so far)
    5. Florida Panthers, 84 points (9 GP so far)
    6. Ottawa Senators, 84 points (11 GP so far)
    7. Detroit Red Wings, 81 points (12 GP so far)
    8. Buffalo Sabres, 76 points (12 GP so far)

    What’s bound to happen in the Atlantic?

    The forecast is so close between the top-three teams in the division that none of their positions in the standings are truly set in stone, unlike how the Red Wings will undoubtedly land somewhere in the bottom-three spots in the Atlantic.

    There’s a chance the Panthers never get off the ground and there’s a chance the Sabres are able to continue turning heads around the league by not currently being in the basement of the division. However, since this forecast takes into consideration recent seasons in addition to current gameplay…

    Check back in another month.

    (Is it too early to do one of these? Yeah, probably.)

    Metropolitan Division

    1. p-Washington Capitals, 107 points (10 GP so far)
    2. x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 106 points (10 GP so far)
    3. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 93 points (11 GP so far)
    4. wc2- New York Islanders, 89 points (11 GP so far)
    5. Philadelphia Flyers, 89 points (12 GP so far)
    6. New York Rangers, 89 points (12 GP so far)
    7. New Jersey Devils, 87 points (9 GP so far)
    8. Carolina Hurricanes, 85 points (12 GP so far)

    The biggest takeaway from the Metropolitan forecast is after the top-two teams, anything goes.

    Washington will be able to right the ship and land in a divisional spot– whether that’s top-dog or behind the Penguins remains to be seen. Columbus should even out as they’ve been doing as of late and settle in for another First Round exit (probably).

    But between the Islanders, Flyers, Rangers, Devils and Hurricanes? Yeah, anything goes.

    The Islanders are better than the Rangers, but the Rangers might somehow be better than the Flyers. Meanwhile, if New Jersey can get things going like they did last season, they’ve got a chance to box out the competition. Plus, Carolina remains unpredictable and foreseeably within striking range of a wild card spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Again, it’s only been one month. There’s still a little more than five months left in the regular season.

    Western Conference

    Central Division

    1. z-Nashville Predators, 105 points (12 GP so far)
    2. x-Minnesota Wild, 100 points (12 GP so far)
    3. x-Chicago Blackhawks, 98 points (13 GP so far)
    4. wc1-St. Louis Blues, 96 points (10 GP so far)
    5. wc2-Winnipeg Jets, 94 points (12 GP so far)
    6. Dallas Stars, 90 points (11 GP so far)
    7. Colorado Avalanche, 85 points (12 GP so far)

    In the Central Division, the Nashville Predators continue to reign supreme. Cool.

    Minnesota, Chicago and St. Louis are all somehow destined for the postseason. This, after the Wild make it every year, Crawford’s return lifts the Blackhawks over the competition and supposedly the Blues will figure things out.

    Wait, the Avalanche can’t be that bad.

    Once again, it’s an extremely early forecast that takes into account recency bias from the last few seasons. Colorado won’t be last. Winnipeg shouldn’t be a wild card team.

    But Dallas? Yeah, they’re definitely not making the playoffs if they keep playing like they have been.

    Pacific Division

    1. y-San Jose Sharks, 101 points (12 GP so far)
    2. x-Anaheim Ducks, 98 points (13 GP so far)
    3. x-Calgary Flames, 89 points (13 GP so far)
    4. Los Angeles Kings, 87 points (11 GP so far)
    5. Vancouver Canucks, 84 points (14 GP so far)
    6. Edmonton Oilers, 83 points (11 GP so far)
    7. Arizona Coyotes, 77 points (11 GP so far)
    8. Vegas Golden Knights, 75 points (12 GP so far)

    By now everything you’ve read should indicate what’s going to be written below.

    San Jose? Good team. No surprise, given Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are on the blue line with Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Evander Kane at forward. Oh and Martin Jones in net.

    Anaheim? If they can whether the storm, they can make it in one of the most unpredictable divisions based on how bad the other teams are or should be.

    Calgary? Bill Peters finally coaches a team to a playoff berth? Yeah. That should happen.

    The Kings can recover from this slow start– if they don’t mess things up in November.

    As for the Canucks, Oilers, Coyotes and Golden Knights, well, Vancouver might make some noise. Edmonton could be a pretender as long as Connor McDavid is a contender. Arizona remains to be seen and the situation looks like it’s only going to get worse for Vegas before anything gets better– if it even does.

  • DTFR Podcast #128- Celebration Hardcore Brother (a.k.a. Celly Hard Bro)

    DTFR Podcast #128- Celebration Hardcore Brother (a.k.a. Celly Hard Bro)

    Nick and Connor rant about retired numbers, anniversary patches, showing emotion in hockey, the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander, coaches that might get fired, “the code” and Mike Matheson’s antics.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • DTFR Podcast #127- Tip Of The Hat(s)

    John Tavares and Patrice Bergeron both had hat tricks in the last week, so Nick and Connor discuss hat trick ethics and more, since celebrations are hot topics these days. Also, everything else that happened in the first week of regular season action.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Winnipeg Jets 2018-19 Season Preview

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    Winnipeg Jets

    52-20-10, 114 points, 2nd in the Central Division

    Lost in Western Conference Final to VGK, 4-1

    Additions: D Simon Bourque (acquired from MTL), G Laurent Brossoit, F Dennis Everberg, F Seth Griffith

    Subtractions: F Joel Armia (traded to MTL), F Chase De Leo (traded to ANA), D Toby Enstrom (signed, SHL), F Matt Hendricks (signed with MIN), G Michael Hutchinson (signed with FLA), D Jan Kostalek (signed, ELH), G Steve Mason (traded to MTL, subsequently bought-out, current UFA), D Julian Melchiori (signed with FLA), G Jamie Phillips (signed with Charlotte Checkers, AHL), F Buddy Robinson (signed with CGY), F Michael Sgarbossa (signed with WSH), F Paul Stastny (signed with VGK)

    Still Unsigned: F Jimmy Lodge, F Shawn Matthias

    Re-signed: G Eric Comrie, F Marko Dano, G Connor Hellebuyck,F Nicolas Kerdiles (acquired from ANA and re-signed), F JC Lipon, F Adam Lowry, D Josh Morrissey, F Nic Petan, D Tucker Poolman, D Cameron Schilling, F Brandon Tanev, D Jacob Trouba

    Offseason Analysis: For a city with the word “win” in its name, the Winnipeg Jets sure did a lot of winning last season. Paul Maurice coached his club to a 52-20-10 record– good enough for first place in a normal year, but the Nashville Predators were just three points better in the Central Division. Winnipeg finished second in the Central with 114 points.

    They won their first playoff series in franchise history, eliminating the Minnesota Wild in five games in the First Round, then upset the Predators in a Game 7 on the road in the Second Round.

    The Jets didn’t just set franchise records, they established the bar for future benchmarks of success (minus a Cup), but while Winnipeg soared into the Western Conference Final, they were in for a crash landing in five games against the Vegas Golden Knights despite having home-ice advantage.

    Three wins. Just three wins shy of their first Stanley Cup Final appearance for both renditions of the Jets.

    Connor Hellebuyck emerged as a legitimate starting goaltender and General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff made sure to lock him up by re-signing the 25-year-old goaltender to a six-year extension worth $6.167 million per season.

    Hellebucyk’s deal is a manageable cap hit and carries him through his mid-prime, leaving Cheveldayoff’s options open for more in the future, let alone vitally important cap space in the now as there’s kind of a big deal in Winnipeg this season.

    Patrik Laine‘s entering the final year of his entry-level contract. Based on his abilities alone, he’ll see upwards of $9.000 million per season. Based on his comparison in play to Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and more– he could be seeing John Tavares money (in the $11.000 million AAV ballpark).

    Oh yeah, Matthews is a pending-RFA in July 2019 too.

    Laine’s play was elevated in the postseason by offseason departure, Paul Stastny, after Stastny was acquired by the Jets at the trade deadline. Winnipeg wanted to retain his services, but Stastny chose the Golden Knights over a return to Manitoba.

    Despite losing a quintessential playmaker in the short run, the Jets gained an edge on cap space in the long run. Cap space that will come in handy for Laine and other pending-RFAs including Kyle Connor, Marko Dano, Jacob Trouba and trade deadline depth pickup turned playoff scoring bottom-pair defender, Joe Morrow.

    Trouba went through arbitration this offseason as the ongoing saga continues with his future in Winnipeg– whereas the last couple of seasons it appeared he was on his way out in a transaction, the Jets and the 24-year-old defender have mulled things over on a mutual relationship.

    It’s just taking one little step at a time, as the defender was awarded a one-year, $5.500 million extension this summer.

    There’s hope for reconciliation in a post-Toby Enstrom era, where Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers are two of the three most important blue liners in Winnipeg– with Trouba as the third.

    Backing up Hellebuyck this season is Laurent Brossoit, who’s coming off of a career-worst (min. 10 games played) 3.24 goals against average and .883 save percentage in 14 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season.

    While Brossoit was with the Oilers (of all teams), that doesn’t scream breakout season by a backup goaltender. In fact, it’s on par with Michael Hutchinson’s 3.26 GAA and .907 SV% in three games with Winnipeg last season and Steve Mason’s 3.24 GAA and .906 SV% in 13 games with the Jets.

    Unless Brossoit taps into the once-touted potential he had in his WHL days of Junior hockey, Cheveldayoff’s made a lateral move behind Hellebuyck on the depth chart and lends Maurice to over-rely on his starter to compensate for goaltending struggles.

    That’s where things can get ugly.

    Otherwise, the Jets should be just fine in 2018-19.

    Offseason Grade: C

    The Jets introduced an alternate sweater for the first time in Manitoba since the franchise relocated from Atlanta in May 2011. It’s not the low-point of the offseason, however, it will take off a few grade points for such a bland script font as its crest.

    Otherwise, Winnipeg’s offseason was par for the course for a roster that has the potential to go just as far– if not further– this season as they did last season. However, next summer is where things could get muddy.

  • Minnesota Wild 2018-19 Season Preview

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    Minnesota Wild

    45-26-11, 101 points, 3rd in the Central Division

    Lost in First Round to WPG, 4-1

    Additions: D Matt Bartkowski, F J.T. Brown, F Eric Fehr, G Andrew Hammond, F Matt Hendricks, F Mike Liambas, D Greg Pateryn, F Matt Read

    Subtractions: F Patrick Cannone (signed, DEL), F Matt Cullen (signed with PIT), F Kurtis Gabriel (signed with NJ), D Alex Grant (signed, KHL), D Dylan Labbe (signed with Wichita Thunder, ECHL), D Viktor Loov (signed, KHL), G Steve Michalek (signed, Austria), F Zack Mitchell (signed with LA), D Zac Palmquist (signed with Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL), G Niklas Svedberg (signed, SHL), F Daniel Winnik (signed to a PTO with BOS), G Adam Vay (signed, Kazakhstan)

    Still Unsigned: F Adam Gilmour, D Kyle Quincey

    Re-signed: D Matt Dumba, D Nick Seeler, F Jason Zucker

    Offseason Analysis: Despite a late-season decline, Devan Dubnyk managed to backstop the Minnesota Wild to a third place finish in the Central Division standings– locking up their sixth consecutive postseason appearance and guaranteeing a First Round matchup with the Winnipeg Jets.

    Unfortunately for the Wild, they had a First Round matchup with the Winnipeg Jets. Oh and Minnesota’s head coach is Bruce Boudreau, so everyone knows about the playoff curse surrounding him by now, right?

    Kidding aside, Minnesota lasted five games against Winnipeg when they realistically should’ve been swept by the jumpin’ Jets.

    After nine seasons of being in charge, Chuck Fletcher was fired and Paul Fenton was hired as Minnesota’s new General Manager.

    Fenton, of course, served as the assistant GM for the Nashville Predators (2006-18) and had been familiar with Wild owner, Craig Leipold– given their two seasons of overlap as employee and employer in Nashville from 2006-08 before Leipold sold the Predators and bought Minnesota.

    Additionally, Fenton was highly-touted as the best “available” prospective General Manager that was potentially on the market for going big time and moving up in the rankings. Under the guidance of David Poile for over a decade with the Preds, Fenton is more than ready for his new role with the Wild.

    Unfortunately, he’s inheriting a mess. Yes, even though the Wild have made the playoffs six seasons in a row now, they haven’t gotten past the Second Round.

    Plus Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are under contract for forever (slight exaggeration) and both have an injury history (Parise’s career was nearly over and Suter’s going to miss the start of this season). They’re also on the books at over $7.500 million per season each with no movement clauses.

    Parise, 34, and Suter, 33, aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, unless someone’s willing to eat some cap hit.

    Minnesota has about $1.770 million in cap space with seven pending free agents (including two RFAs) next offseason. Eric Staal is one of them and he’s already indicated he’s willing to be more than patient while the Wild figure themselves out.

    Staal’s currently making $3.500 million per season and reached the 40-goal plateau last season in a rejuvenating 76-point year (42 goals, 34 assists). At 33, he’s not going to get any younger, but he’s still a vital component of the roster with at least a couple more decent seasons left in him. Perhaps he’ll be the next ageless wonder, even.

    Eric Fehr was given a second chance after the San Jose Sharks acquired his services from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season and he impressed the Wild enough to sign him to a one-year deal. Either that or Minnesota found their perfect placeholder while a) youth develops and b) they figure out how to free up cap space next offseason.

    While the performance on the ice is to be determined– what with an underrated goaltender in Dubnyk and a solid blue line now that Matt Dumba is locked up through the 2022-23 season– this season will be a season in transition, no doubt, for the front office.

    Perhaps Boudreau’s next to go after Fletcher’s roster building couldn’t get the Wild over the Second Round hump, does Leipold start pointing fingers behind the bench? Is it only natural that a new General Manager bring in their own plan for the bench to go along with the personalities on their roster?

    It’s a make or break season for Minnesota, whether anyone wants to accept it or not.

    Offseason Grade: C-

    Hiring the best “GM prospect” as your new General Manager was Minnesota’s biggest move this offseason. Well, that and re-signing Matt Dumba to a friendly long-term deal worth $6.000 million per season through 2022-23.

    But Paul Fenton’s got plenty of headaches ahead, regardless of team performance on the ice and that’s where the navigation of this franchise gets tricky. Besides, none of the free agents added to the roster this offseason scream “steal of the century”, though signing Andrew Hammond as a third-string goalie doesn’t hurt– goaltending depth is all too often over-looked.

  • 2018-19 Projected Standings

    It’s still way too early to make these bold claims, but let’s do it anyway.

    Using marginal goals for and marginal goals against from the 2017-18 regular season– let’s assume there were no roster, coaching or front office changes this summer that would otherwise flip everything upside-down– here are expected points totals for all 31 National Hockey League teams for the 2018-19 season.

    Eastern Conference

    Atlantic Division

    1. z-Tampa Bay Lightning, 114 points
    2. x-Boston Bruins, 113 points
    3. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 108 points
    4. Florida Panthers, 92 points
    5. Detroit Red Wings, 77 points
    6. Montreal Canadiens, 71 points
    7. Ottawa Senators, 65 points
    8. Buffalo Sabres, 61 points

    Metropolitan Division

    1. y-Pittsburgh Penguins, 100 points
    2. x-Washington Capitals, 99 points
    3. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 96 points
    4. x-Philadelphia Flyers, 95 points
    5. x-New Jersey Devils, 93 points
    6. Carolina Hurricanes, 81 points
    7. New York Islanders, 79 points
    8. New York Rangers, 78 points

    2018-19 Eastern Conference Outlook

    Not much is different in the Atlantic Division heading into 2018-19.

    The top teams are the top teams, regardless of their additions (John Tavares to the Toronto Maple Leafs) or subtractions (uhh, James van Riemsdyk from the Maple Leafs?) and there’s going to be a little movement in the Metropolitan Division (most notably, a new division leader from 2017-18 to 2018-19).

    Carolina’s revamped defense and the Rangers post-trade deadline to present overhaul are wild cards to watch for any surprises in the standings.

    2017-18 Eastern Conference Expected Points Totals vs. (What Actually Happened)

    Atlantic Division

    1. y-Montreal Canadiens, 102 points (z-Tampa Bay Lightning, 113 points)
    2. x-Boston Bruins, 101 points (x-Boston Bruins, 112 points)
    3. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 95 points (x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 105 points)
    4. x-Tampa Bay Lightning, 95 points (Florida Panthers, 96 points)
    5. Ottawa Senators, 91 points (Detroit Red Wings, 73 points)
    6. Florida Panthers, 81 points (Montreal Canadiens, 71 points)
    7. Detroit Red Wings, 77 points (Ottawa Senators, 67 points)
    8. Buffalo Sabres, 77 points (Buffalo Sabres, 62 points)

    What happened in the Atlantic? Injuries and age slowed the Canadiens way, way down, while Tampa reemerged as one of the top teams in the NHL, appearing in their third Eastern Conference Final in four years (despite losing to the Washington Capitals in seven games).

    Boston proved to be ahead of schedule in their plan, while the Leafs were right on track. Meanwhile, the floor fell out from underneath the Senators and a new head coach didn’t bring the expected progress in development for the Sabres.

    Florida turned a few heads, though ultimately proved to be a non-contender, missing the playoffs by a point (Columbus and New Jersey locked up the Eastern Conference wild cards with 97 points on the season), while Detroit fell within the expected margin of error (anywhere from 72-82 points on the season).

    Metropolitan Division

    1. p-Washington Capitals, 125 points (y-Washington Capitals, 105 points)
    2. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 114 points (x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 100 points)
    3. x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 111 points (x-Philadelphia Flyers, 98 points)
    4. x-New York Rangers, 106 points (x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 97 points)
    5. New York Islanders, 91 points (x-New Jersey Devils, 97 points)
    6. Philadelphia Flyers, 85 points (Carolina Hurricanes, 83 points)
    7. Carolina Hurricanes, 83 points (New York Islanders, 80 points)
    8. New Jersey Devils, 67 points (New York Rangers, 77 points)

    What happened in the Metropolitan? Sometimes it’s not about the number of points, but rather, the divisional standing that matters.

    Washington may have surprised some experts by finishing 1st in their division in 2017-18 (then going on to win the Cup), but to us it wasn’t (the division win, not the Cup). The rest was a crapshoot. Three teams (Washington, Columbus and Pittsburgh) made the playoffs from our predictions heading into last season, while one (N.Y. Rangers) fell flat and hit the reset button.

    New Jersey had one of the biggest improvements from 2016-17 to 2017-18, while the Carolina Hurricanes hit the nail on the head (albeit one position higher than our prediction) with 83 points in 2017-18.

    Western Conference

    Central Division

    1. z-Winnipeg Jets, 114 points
    2. x-Nashville Predators, 113 points
    3. x-Minnesota Wild, 99 points
    4. x-Colorado Avalanche, 99 points
    5. Dallas Stars, 95 points
    6. St. Louis Blues, 93 points
    7. Chicago Blackhawks, 81 points

    Pacific Division

    1. y-Vegas Golden Knights, 108 points
    2. x-Los Angeles Kings, 105 points
    3. x-San Jose Sharks, 100 points
    4. x-Anaheim Ducks, 99 points
    5. Edmonton Oilers, 81 points
    6. Calgary Flames, 80 points
    7. Vancouver Canucks, 74 points
    8. Arizona Coyotes, 73 points

    2018-19 Western Conference Outlook

    Before the additions of Ryan O’Reilly (via trade), Tyler Bozak and Patrick Maroon (via free agency), the St. Louis Blues were destined to slide through another season of mediocrity. Now, they’re the most unpredictable team of the Central Division– and, yes, that’s even acknowledging what kind of season Jake Allen has in net.

    Allen could make or break St. Louis’s season, though Mike Yeo will have to balance Allen’s starting time with Chad Johnson‘s play as a solid backup, but enough about the Blues (for now).

    Everything else looks just the same in the Central with Colorado, Minnesota and Dallas as the teams that are most likely to change places and hit or miss one of the last playoff spots in the West.

    In the Pacific, the arms race for the top of the division rages on with the Golden Knights, Kings and Sharks auditioning for the role of top-dog and the Ducks bumbling their way into a wild card spot.

    It’s status quo in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, with the Arizona Coyotes entering the 2018-19 season as the biggest underdogs (hint, if they had played the way they did from February through April 2018 all season last season, they would be a lot higher up in these expected totals).

    2017-18 Western Conference Expected Points Totals vs. (What Actually Happened)

    Central Division

    1. z-Minnesota Wild, 115 points (p-Nashville Predators, 117 points)
    2. x-Chicago Blackhawks, 104 points (x-Winnipeg Jets, 114 points)
    3. x-St. Louis Blues, 99 points (x-Minnesota Wild, 101 points)
    4. x-Nashville Predators, 98 points (x-Colorado Avalanche, 95 points)
    5. Winnipeg Jets, 89 points (St. Louis Blues, 94 points)
    6. Dallas Stars, 76 points (Dallas Stars, 92 points)
    7. Colorado Avalanche, 47 points (Chicago Blackhawks, 76 points)

    What happened in the Central? Simply put, the stars aligned.

    The Blackhawks were kept far away from the 90-point plateau (and a playoff spot) by virtue of injuries to their starting goaltender, Corey Crawford, while the anemic offense of the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche was no more in 2017-18.

    Both are surprises– by definition, given expected points totals are driven by an equation that takes last season’s offense into account for the following season– but any inherent intuition would show that Colorado was destined to improve (by that much, perhaps not).

    St. Louis fell out of the race while Connor Hellebuyck backstopped the Winnipeg Jets to a 50-plus win season and the Wild surged quietly. The Stars were thought to be further off the path back to the playoffs than they turned out, but alas, Dallas was still 6th in the division at season’s end.

    Pacific Division

    1. y-Vegas Golden Knights, 106 points (y-Vegas Golden Knights, 109 points)
    2. x-Edmonton Oilers, 106 points (x-Anaheim Ducks, 101 points)
    3. x-Anaheim Ducks, 101 points (x-San Jose Sharks, 100 points)
    4. x- San Jose Sharks, 100 points (x-Los Angeles Kings, 98 points)
    5. Calgary Flames, 94 points (Calgary Flames, 84 points)
    6. Los Angeles Kings, 90 points (Edmonton Oilers, 78 points)
    7. Vancouver Canucks, 67 points (Vancouver Canucks, 73 points)
    8. Arizona Coyotes, 66 points (Arizona Coyotes, 70 points)

    What happened in the Pacific? One of the best things about making predictions using a set of data is the outliers that cause some people to doubt all of math in its entirety. Nothing is concrete in the world of projections and expectations. The 2017-18 Edmonton Oilers are a great example of that.

    Based on a spectacular breakout 2016-17 season, the Oilers should’ve done a lot more than *checks notes* leave Cam Talbot in the net for too many games, facing too many shots, while Milan Lucic exerts some type of energy in the midst of another 100-point season by Connor McDavid only to miss the playoffs (by a lot) and still receive enough pity votes for the Hart Memorial Trophy to finish 5th in the voting. Hmm.

    One player does not make a team. One expected points total before a single puck drops on the regular season does not guarantee anything.

    Meanwhile, Vegas surprised everyone, Anaheim and San Jose hit their expected points totals, Los Angeles was ahead of schedule (though the core is still aging), Calgary regressed and the rest was as expected (again, given the margin of error– about +/- 5 points).

  • Colorado Avalanche 2018-19 Season Preview

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    Colorado Avalanche

    43-30-9, 95 points, 4th in the Central Division

    2nd Wild Card in the West, lost in First Round to NSH 4-2

    Additions: F Cody Bass (signed to a PTO), F Matt Calvert, D Ian Cole, G Philipp Grubauer (acquired from WSH), F Scott Kosmachuk, F Logan O’Connor

    Subtractions: G Jonathan Bernier (signed with DET), F Blake Comeau (signed with DAL), F Felix Girard (signed with the Manitoba Moose, AHL), D Jesse Graham (signed with Utica Comets, AHL), F Rocco Grimaldi (signed with NSH), G Andrew Hammond (signed with MIN), D Brooks Orpik (acquired from WSH, bought out, then signed with WSH), F Nail Yakupov (signed, KHL)

    Still Unsigned: F Joe Colborne, F Reid Petryk, D Duncan Siemens, F Trent Vogelhuber

    Re-signed: G Joe Cannata, D Ryan Graves, D Mason Geertsen, G Spencer Martin, D Patrik Nemeth, D Matt Nieto

    Offseason Analysis: Now that Erik Karlsson has been traded from the Ottawa Senators to the San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche General Manager Joe Sakic has had one of the best offseasons. Kidding aside, the Senators lottery protected their 2018 1st round pick in the three-team Matt Duchene trade, meaning the Avalanche have Ottawa’s 2019 1st round pick in addition to their own.

    The #LoseForHughes watch has begun.

    But as for Colorado’s offseason, things have gone swimmingly as Sakic’s roster made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2014. Blake Comeau’s 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 79 games in 2017-18 have departed for Dallas. In his top-nine forward role, Sakic replaced the 32-year-old Comeau with 28-year-old, Matt Calvert.

    Calvert had 9-15–24 totals in 69 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and is looking to turn things around in health and in offensive production as a top-nine forward.

    While Colorado’s top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen look to continue leading the team in production, Alexander Kerfoot seeks to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump on the second line.

    On defense, Sakic knows time is on his side.

    Nikita Zadorov and Tyson Barrie have made an effective pairing with Samuel Girard and Erik Johnson contesting for more ice time. Girard had an impressive rookie debut with three goals and 17 assists (20 points) in 68 games played, while Barrie and Johnson played veteran roles– anchoring the blue line for the Avs.

    Patrik Nemeth proved to be a smart pickup off waivers from the Stars last season as a bottom-pair defender, so it was an easy decision to re-sign with the NHL’s hottest up-and-coming team from a 48-point season in 2016-17 to a 95-point effort (and playoff berth) in 2017-18.

    To complete his top-six defensemen on the depth chart, Sakic signed 29-year-old durable defender, Ian Cole, to a three-year contract worth a friendly $4.250 million per season.

    Cole had 20 points in 67 games with the Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins last season and is looking to prove that he’s more than just a flash in the pan at this point in his career.

    A two-time Cup winner with the Penguins, Cole is in the midst of his prime and brings a competitive edge to the Avs in his quiet stability.

    In goal, Semyon Varlamov has some competition for the starting job– if he can stay healthy– as Philipp Grubauer was acquired at the draft in June and signed to a three-year extension at a cap friendly $3.333 million per season.

    Grubauer, 26, dropped the first two games of the Washington Capitals postseason run in April while Braden Holtby was figuring himself out, but managed a 15-10-3 record in 35 games played in the 2017-18 regular season as Washington’s backup. He also had a 2.35 goals against average and .923 save percentage in his most games played in a season since reaching the NHL during the 2012-13 season.

    Varlamov, 30, managed to play in 51 games last season, despite injuries, and amassed a 24-16-6 record to go along with a 2.68 GAA and .916 SV%. Last season was much better than his 6-17-0 record in 24 games played in 2016-17, in which Varlamov had a career-worst 3.38 GAA and .898 SV%.

    With one-year remaining on his contract at $5.900 million a season, Varlamov’s reached a make-or-break point in his career, let alone his time in the Mile High City. Grubauer is the way of the foreseeable future and a little healthy competition never hurt anyone for the starting job.

    Sure Jonathan Bernier’s moved on to the Detroit Red Wings, but Colorado has one of the most sought after goalies that was on the slim trade market among options in the crease.

    Offseason Grade: B-

    The Avalanche had some needs and they filled them. In accordance with hockey logic, Colorado shouldn’t be as good as they were last season this season, but for the first time in at least a few years it appears they’ve found a reliable goaltender.

    As MacKinnon continues to emerge and the kids grow into their own, Sakic’s roster looks set to make some waves in the coming years– at least as a spoiler (they took Nashville to six games before being eliminated after all), if not something more.

    Despite acquiring Brooks Orpik only to buy him out as some sort of larger scheme the Capitals secretly wanted all along to sign him to a one-year, $1.000 million contract, Colorado didn’t make a bad choice this offseason. It’s just the beginning of making themselves an attractive free agent destination once again.